November 8, 2023
Building a research legacy through global talent
Four AMTD scholars join the University of Waterloo with their disruptive research agendas
A recent luncheon welcomed four new postdoctoral scholars through the AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. The AMTD program is designed to attract the most accomplished postdoctoral leaders from top universities across the globe.
Through a generous donation from the AMTD Foundation, led by University of Waterloo alum Calvin Choi (BA ’01), the AMTD fellowship provides financial support to postdoctoral scholars with the goal of fostering boundless opportunities to develop research and scholarship at Waterloo. The program provides postdocs with an annual salary of $75,000 plus a $7,500 engagement fund.
Dr. Jeff Casello (far left), associate vice-president, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, with the recipients of the 2024 AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship Program from left to right: Dr. Juyeon Lee, Dr. Vasily Panferov, Dr. Erfan Shirzadi and Dr. Elena Caruso.
“The University of Waterloo continues to be thrilled with the success of the AMTD program. Through this competition, the University has attracted incredibly talented and impactful scholars, whose research and engagement will certainly produce transformative outcomes for our new colleagues, the University and our communities,” said Jeff Casello, associate vice-president, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
“This incoming cohort again demonstrates the breadth of research excellence that occurs at Waterloo — from addressing contemporary legal and social frameworks around women’s health and the future of work, to advancing health technologies, these emerging scholars will be rethinking societies’ futures.”
Meet the 2024 recipients of the AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship:
Elena Caruso
Faculty of Arts, Department of Political Science
Dr. Caruso’s research aims to question the role of the state in the regulation of abortion, to reshape dominant legal paradigms in abortion care, and to draw important lessons for the future of health technologies.
Learn more about Dr. Elena Caruso
Juyeon Lee
Faculty of Health, School of Public Health
Dr. Lee’s research examines the health, safety and well-being of domestic workers on digital labour platforms who provide direct and/or indirect care services in one or more private households.
Learn more about Dr. Juyeon Lee
Vasily Panferov
Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry
A food allergy is a body's immune response to food's naturally occurring components (allergens). Even trace amounts of allergens can induce severe reactions or sudden death by asphyxia.
Dr. Panferov’s research will, for the first time, develop a screening method for multiple common major allergens, such as eggs, milk, peanut, soy and wheat.
Learn more about Dr. Vasily Panferov
Erfan Shirzadi
Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Continuous monitoring of multiple biomolecules in a body is an essential part of personalized medicine. Among these biomolecules, antibiotics’ concentration in a body should remain in a certain therapeutic window to avoid irreversible adverse effects of overdose and underdose.
Dr. Shirzadi’s research will present a minimally invasive microneedle aptamer-assisted detector (MAD), that is able to monitor both antibiotics in interstitial fluid and be used for spontaneous and real-time monitoring of the pharmacokinetics of VCM and GTM, via voltammetric and amperometric techniques.
Learn more about Dr. Erfan Shirzadi
Applications are now open for the 2024 cohort of AMTD scholars. Candidates for this program will be those who have a disruptive research agenda that accelerates the development of revolutionary talent in research and scholarship, for the betterment of society. Research focus should be in the areas identified as strategic areas of research strength, with work that challenges and advances disciplines, is transformative, and has a global impact. Scholars should demonstrate leadership and external engagement within and outside the academy.
Applications are due December 1, 2023. Find out more on the AMTD webpage.
